Our Network

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Laura Itzhaki

Dept of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge
UK Proteostasis Network Coordinator
Co-Coordinating Committee Member
My research interests include protein folding, engineering and design; molecular therapeutics; and targeted protein degradation. My group is exploiting our understanding of protein-protein interactions to harness proteostasis networks and thereby manipulate protein stability and disease outcome. We are combining target-engagement modules and degradation-inducing modules in a mix-and-match format to identify the best combination for effective knockdown of the target with the aim of co-opting the broadest range of degradation machineries and thereby tackling hard-to-drug targets and disease states.

                                                                   Keywords: protein engineering; targeted protein degradation; molecular therapeutics

Maria Jimenez-Sanchez

Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King's College London
We are interested in the protective role of proteostasis mechanisms in neurodegenerative diseases. In particular, our lab investigates how chaperones and autophagy work in glial cells, mainly in astrocytes, and their relevance to glial function and glia-neuron communication.

Keywords: Neurodegeneration; Protein folding and chaperones; Protein degradation

Seyed Mehdi Jafarnejad

Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, Queen's University Belfast
We are interested in the mechanisms of regulation of mRNA translation, including microRNA-induced silencing and Ribosome Quality Control (RQC), and their roles in cancer drug response and the innate immune response to viral infections.

Keywords: Cancer; Protein translation and ribosomes; Viruses

Viktor Korolchuk

Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University
Co-Coordinating Committee Member
My scientific interests lie in the area of intracellular protein trafficking and degradation pathways. The current focus of research in my laboratory is molecular mechanisms and cellular functions of autophagy.

Keywords: Neurodegeneration; Lysosome; Ageing

Nicholas Ktistakis

Department of Signalling, Babraham Institute
We study autophagy in various mammalian cell models, from tissue culture immortalised cells to iPSC-derived neurons.

Keywords: Mitochondria; Protein degradation; Lysosome

Wei-Li (William) Kuan

ALBORADA Drug Discovery Institute, University of Cambridge
We are an academic drug discovery institute with a strong interest to target proteostasis for neurodegenerative conditions. We can help translating your potential target of interest into tool molecules for testing in preclinical models. We are supported by our in-house compound libraries (annotated and diversity), assay development and HTS capabilities, disease and pharmacodynamic modelling expertise, and a team of medicinal chemists and structural biologists.

Keywords: Development; Neurodegeneration; Model organisms (C. elegans, Drosophila, etc)

Yu-Chiang Lai

School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Science, University of Birmingham
Co-Coordinating Committee Member
The role of ubiquitin signalling in skeletal muscle biology The role of proteostasis in ageing and exercising muscles

Keywords: Ageing; Post-translational modifications (PTMs); Protein folding and chaperones

Jon Lane

School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol
Co-Coordinating Committee Member
My lab studies autophagy and its roles in promoting cellular resilience. We mainly use human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived neurons and glia to test how autophagy contributes to neuronal resilience and neuroinflammation in Parkinson's and other human neurodegenerative diseases.

Keywords: Stress responses; Neurodegeneration; Mammalian models / cell culture

Patrick Lewis

Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, University of London
My group investigates how genetic variants can influence the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, with a particular focus on mutations in LRRK2. There is strong evidence linking LRRK2 to Proteostasis via macroautophagy and lysosomal dysfunction.

Keywords: Neurodegeneration; Lysosome; Aggregation

Francesco Licausi

Department of Biology, University of Oxford
We study the contribution of oxygen-dependent protein destabilisation to allow hypoxia sensing in cells, with a focus on plant cells. We are also interested in enginerring selective protein degradation for sensing other environmental cues.

Keywords: Plants; Stress responses; Development

Michelle Linterman

Department of Immunology, Babraham Institute
Our research aims to understand how vaccination supports long-lived antibody mediated immunity across the lifespan.

Keywords: Ageing; Mammalian models / cell culture; Post-translational modifications (PTMs)

Susana R. Louros

Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, University of Edinburgh
My lab is investigating how dysfunctional protein turnover results in synaptic dysfunction, circuit abnormalities and behavioral changes in models of autism and intellectual disability. Our aim is to understand how best to leverage the UPS pathway for therapeutic benefit of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Keywords: Protein degradation; Protein translation and ribosomes; Post-translational modifications (PTMs)

Girish Ram Mali

Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford
We investigate how cells assemble large multi-subunit motor proteins called axonemal dyneins which power the rhythmic beating motion of eukaryotic cilia and flagella. Our major focus is a newly discovered family of structurally and functionally diverse proteins called Dynein Axonemal Assembly Factors/DNAAFs which shepherd the folding and assembly of individual dynein subunits into functional macromolecular motors. To uncover the molecular mechanisms of DNAAFs, we combine biochemistry, integrative structural modeling, cell biology, and proteomic approaches.

Keywords: Protein folding and chaperones; Protein translation and ribosomes; Protein transport

Glenn Masson

School of Medicine, University of Dundee
Our research group is interested in GCN2, and how this is activated in cancer cells under proteostasic stress. We are looking to develop drugs which can be used to select cancer cells which have altered amino acid metabolism to compensate for the low nutrient conditions of the tumour microenvironment. We use a variety of tools to do this, primarily structural biology, biochemical and biophysical analysis, and well as cell and tissue research.

Keywords: Cancer; Stress responses; Post-translational modifications (PTMs)

Liz Miller

Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Dundee
Co-Coordinating Committee Member
Research in the Miller lab is broadly aimed at understanding basic mechanisms of secretory protein biogenesis, focusing on protein quality control and export from the ER. Our current focus is on the mechanisms of COPII vesicle formation and cargo selection.

Keywords: Protein transport; Protein translation and ribosomes; Protein folding and chaperones

James Murray

Healthy Ageing & Chronic Conditions Research Institute, Medical School, Swansea University
Co-Coordinating Committee Member
My laboratory is using a new teleost model to understand vertebrate ageing mechanisms. We focus on the loss of proteostasis at the organismal level and how this affects healthspan and longevity.

Keywords: Model organisms (C. elegans, Drosophila, etc); Ageing; Protein degradation

Yvonne Nyathi

School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds
Our laboratory investigates molecular mechanisms of membrane protein proteostasis, from their synthesis to integration into target membranes. Employing a multidisciplinary approach, we harness proteomics, high-resolution imaging, bioinformatics, biochemistry, and structural biology to deepen our understanding of these vital processes and their impact on cellular function and disease.

Keywords: Protein degradation; Protein folding and chaperones; Protein transport

Jasmeen Oberoi

Genome Damage and Stability Centre, University of Sussex
We are interested in understanding the recruitment and regulation of oncogenic kinases by the HSP90 molecular chaperone system, using biochemical and structural biology approaches . We study the molecular mechanisms of assembly of these large HSP90:Co-chaperone:kinase complexes, and the roles of phosphorylation and dephosphorylation, with the aim of finding new ways to disrupt the cycle of HSP90-dependant kinase regulation in cancer.

Keywords: Protein folding and chaperones; Cancer; Post-translational modifications (PTMs)

Eugenia Piddini

School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol
We are interested in understanding how toxic protein aggregates and proteotoxic stress affect cellular fitness and cell competition. We use Drosophila and several in vitro models including human ES cells and their derivatives for our studies.

Keywords: Mammalian models / cell culture; Stress responses; Model organisms (C. elegans, Drosophila, etc)